


Bodyguard

by fictionalportal



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst, air mattress, nice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-28
Updated: 2015-05-28
Packaged: 2018-04-01 17:53:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4029196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fictionalportal/pseuds/fictionalportal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carmilla is, as usual, useless and broody. Laura confronts her about her moodiness and behavior during the dimwit squad's escape from Silas and subsequent trek.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bodyguard

Carmilla practically inhaled a glass of blood, leaving it unwashed next to the sink. 

“Don’t leave a mess in the kitchen,” Laura said sternly. 

Carmilla rolled her eyes and turned back to the sink. She ran the water for a moment, neglecting to clean anything. 

“Carm,” Laura reprimanded from the living room around the corner from the kitchen. “Perry’s parents were nice enough to let us all stay the night. The least you can do is not leave evidence of blood drinking. And come help me, please.” 

“You caught me, cupcake.” 

After finally cleaning the bloodstained glass (Laura was certain it was the first time Carmilla had washed any dish ever), Carmilla entered the living room. She was greeted with the sight of Laura struggling to pull a fitted sheet over the corner of an overinflated air mattress. Laura was on her stomach, stretched from one corner to the other, desperately trying to keep the opposite sides of the sheet from popping off and enveloping her. 

Carmilla, exhausted from trekking all the way to the Perrys’ mountain cabin, flopped over of the mattress without waiting for Laura to finish making the bed. When Carmilla landed flat on her back, the force was enough to send Laura a few inches into the air. She released her grip on the top corners of the sheet, which then collapsed in on itself and appeared to devour Laura whole. 

When the tiny human popped her head out from the pile of sheets surrounding her, she addressed the less-than-helpful vampire relaxing on the air mattress she had worked so hard to acquire. She had searched through three separate closets, all infested by termites or inhabited by giant spiders, before she came across the mattress and the sheets. It was a semblance of normalcy, just like Perry would want on a break from hiking through mountains and sleeping on dirt. 

“You could stop being so useless, you know,” Laura remarked. 

Carmilla, however, was not amused. She turned on her side, facing away from her girlfriend. “Hm. I’m sure they would have been of considerable use against the Christmas cannibal that tried to eat you. Or that bear that tried to eat you. Or the kobold that first tried to marry you and then tried to eat--”

“What’s with you?” Laura broke in, grabbing Carmilla’s arm. Conversations without eye contact made Laura uncomfortable; conversations with prolonged eye contact were just as undesirable to Carmilla. 

Carmilla tore away from the touch with more force than necessary, but Laura stubbornly refused to let go. The wrenching motion pulled Laura half on top of her girlfriend, colliding in a heap of tangled sheets and now-bruised limbs. Laura sat up and rubbed her strained shoulder, watching the unresponsive vampire. Carmilla’s brow was furrowed in a stare straight ahead of her. Laura decided to annoy Carmilla into talking by, well, talking. 

“Look, I get it. We’re all tired from walking and climbing and avoiding carnivorous cave creatures. I told you, you didn’t have to carry me on your back the whole time. I could totally have handled myself. I don’t need--”

“Protection?” Carmilla glared at Laura out of the corner of her eye. “Yeah. I’m sure you would have been fine fighting that bear on your own.” 

“I took that kobold down, easy.” 

“Alright, Laura.” Carmilla closed her eyes and huddled into herself, not bothering to pull the sheets over her. 

“What? I did. We were friends by the time you showed up. Which took forever, by the way.” 

“Next time you wander off, pick a cave without moving tunnels.” 

Laura was silenced by the lack of concern in her girlfriend’s voice. 

“Go to sleep.” Carmilla added. 

Laura gathered the sheets around her body, but she still felt annoyingly cold. She realized this was the first night since leaving Silas that she hadn’t fallen asleep with Carmilla wrapped around her. Shivers ran over her back and down to her fingers and toes. Within a minute her teeth were chattering. Ten minutes after she started to freeze, she was asleep. 

Carmilla had been kept awake by Laura’s shifting and shivering. She could have slept, given her levels of exhaustion, but she couldn’t stop thinking about the cold seeping into Laura’s skin. 

Laura had mentioned several closets in the house. Carmilla decided not to check the one nearest to Perry and LaFontaine’s room as it was the farthest from the living room she and Laura had set up in. The one right next to the living room, however, was perfectly accessible. Carmilla silently slipped off the air mattress and took a few steps to the closet. She hesitated before opening the door, remembering Laura’s story about the giant spiders. The returning thought of Laura freezing to death in the middle of a mountain cabin convinced Carmilla that mega-arachnids were a less imminent threat. 

To Carmilla’s dismay, the closet door opened to reveal a nest of grossly overfed termites. They had chewed through two shelves in the closet, leaving only the top shelf untouched. Fortunately, that shelf held a stack of cheap, scratchy blankets that appeared uninfested. At least they would be warm and bug-free. Carmilla grabbed the blankets as fast as she could, leaving the termites to their feast. She slammed the door closed quickly. 

“...Carm?” Laura’s voice caused Carmilla to jump. 

Without a word, Carmilla shook out two of the blankets and draped them over Laura. 

“Th-thanks,” Laura stuttered between shaky breaths and chattering teeth. 

Carmilla lay down on the air mattress, careful not to send Laura flying again, now facing the half-frozen human. 

Laura looked at her curiously, just her eyes peeking out over the top of the blanket. Her voice was muffled. “Did you want one?” 

“No. Are you still cold?” 

“Not so much. A little, maybe.” 

Carmilla hesitated. Laura wondered why she didn’t just reach over and pull her close. 

“I didn’t mean it when I called you useless, you know,” Laura tried. 

“Sure, cupcake.” 

“Really.”

“I almost let a gnome marry you.” 

“You’re very useful. Like a power drill, except a vampire.” 

Carmilla’s eyes softened, but no smile appeared on her face. “I think the cold is getting to you.”

“Well then, keep me warm. That’s your job for tonight. No bears, no gnomes.” 

“You want me to be your blanket?” 

Laura pulled the blanket below her chin. “You have been every other night.” 

Carmilla dropped her gaze from Laura, registering the accuracy of the statement. 

“Besides, if you hold onto me I can’t go wandering off again.” 

Instantly Carmilla’s arm landed on Laura’s side. Laura laughed at the speed of the reaction. 

Laura pulled the blankets off for a moment, throwing them over Carmilla and rolling across the mattress to assume little spoon position. Carmilla cuddled up behind her, both arms wrapped around Laura’s small waist and her longer legs tucked behind Laura’s. Laura fell asleep a few minutes later, but until the sun peeked in through a crack in the cabin wall, Carmilla was wide awake next to her. 

Laura awakened briefly, flipping onto her other side and facing Carmilla. Carmilla tried to release her grip around Laura’s waist, but Laura took Carmilla’s hands in hers and pulled her closer. She poked at Carmilla’s legs with ice-cold toes. 

“My feet are cold,” Laura said with tired puppy dog eyes. 

Carmilla smiled at her and kissed her forehead. “Go back to sleep.” 

“Mmkay,” Laura whispered, already drifting off again. 

Carmilla allowed herself to follow suit once Laura’s breathing had slowed and her shivering had stopped.


End file.
